Art ‘raffle’ nets about $11,000 for LJAA

“24 ... Number 24!” cried out Raye Anne Marks, treasurer of La Jolla Art Association (LJAA), as she read off the latest raffle ticket number picked from a glass fishbowl at the annual fundraising event July 10 in the galleries in La Jolla Shores.

Cocoa Hummel

“That’s me! I want Tyla’s painting ‘Sea Waves,’ please,” squeaked out a voice from the crowd of 40-50 highly attentive art patrons sittting straight and tall in their white foldup chairs, hoping their ticket number would soon be called.

LJAA sold 52 tickets to the event for $200 each. Each ticket holder got to choose from one of 64 paintings (each valued up to $2,000), once their number was called. Everyone wanted an early pick so they had the best choice of artwork.

The 12 paintings not chosen were offered for $100 a piece at the end of the raffle. A steal anyway you look at it!

Adam Combs

(Will Bowen)

Among the ticket holders were people from all over San Diego; many were artists who wanted to own a painting by an admired peer, some just wanted something to capture their memories of a place or person they cherished, and others were after a good deal or art investment.

When her number was called, LJAA member Jacque Nevels picked a very solid, dark-colored, starburst-style abstract painting titled “Profusion,” by Tamara Stautland. “I just love abstract art work,” she swooned.

Ginger Steketee, retired from the Visual Arts Department at Palomar College, chose a lovely seascape of a boy picking up shells, titled “Shell Seeker,” by Bonnie Owen. “I selected it because it makes me think about my 5-year-old grandson, who lives far away, way up in Canada,” Steketee said.

Ravioli Sisters: Shyah and Wesley Preis

(Will Bowen)

Marlena Bussand chose Connie McCoy’s painting “Dubrovnik Plaza,” because “I’ve been there and I wanted something that reminded me of my trip.”

Shores residents Mary and Mathew Cantonis had their eyes on a good value, so they selected Raye Anne Mark’s delightful “Paris Cafe,” which would normally sell for about five times the price of a raffle ticket.

Misty Oleson bought two raffle tickets and was able to pick two paintings, both by Tyla Colton. One was the still life “Kitchen Flowers,” and the other was an outdoor painting titled “Secluded Lily Pond.”

Mary and Mathew Cantonis

“What attracted me to Tyla’s paintings were the color combinations,” she said.

Adam Combs likes to launch his kayak at La Jolla Shores Beach, and said he’s become interested in the LJAA gallery as an off spin to his frequent kayaking excursions. After considerable consideration, he selected a double abstract painting titled “Waiting for Red,” by Ellen Deiter.

La Jollan Takako Olson picked a wonderful photograph of rows of small, barrel-shaped cactus titled “Botanicals Cabo San Lucas,” by Lisa Ross. Ross said she uses an expensive color printer that paints her photographs on canvas. One of them, of a 100-year-old wooden summer house in Siberia near Lake Bakal, was left over after the raffle and was available for $100. She said she stepped off a Trans-Siberian Railway car to take the shot, which would normally sell online for 12 times the raffle price!

Bill and Mary Farrell were looking for memory joggers. They picked “Autumn Colorado” by Tyla Colton because, “we lived in Colorado,” and “Tuscany” by Naren Doshi, because “we have visited there many times.” Bill is an oceanographer who wrote some of the first articles predicting global climate change and rising sea levels.

Coca Hummel of Rancho Santa Fe selected “Pine Valley Trees,” by Tyla Colton because, “I wanted an example of Tyla’s new way of painting in the abstract impressionist style.”

Hundred of surfers and other supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement gathered June 6 at Tourmaline Surfing Park for a Paddle for Peace event to honor the life of George Floyd, whose death in police custody May 25 in Minneapolis has sparked protests throughout the country against racial injustice and police brutality.

Letters to the editor: Now is no time for silence about racism I am writing to express my disappointment in the lack of response regarding current events prompted by the needless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade.